This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Derzelle, S.
Right arrow Articles by Danchin, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Derzelle, S.
Right arrow Articles by Danchin, A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, March 2004, p. 1270-1279, Vol. 186, No. 5
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.5.1270-1279.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The PhoP-PhoQ Two-Component Regulatory System of Photorhabdus luminescens Is Essential for Virulence in Insects

Sylviane Derzelle,1* Evelyne Turlin,1 Eric Duchaud,2 Sylvie Pages,3 Frank Kunst,2 Alain Givaudan,3 and Antoine Danchin1

Unité de Génétique des Génomes Bactériens,1 Laboratoire de Génomique des Microorganismes Pathogènes, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15,2 Laboratoire EMIP, Université Montpellier II, IFR56, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (UMR 1133), 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France3

Received 11 September 2003/ Accepted 25 November 2003

Photorhabdus luminescens is a symbiont of entomopathogenic nematodes. Analysis of the genome sequence of this organism revealed a homologue of PhoP-PhoQ, a two-component system associated with virulence in intracellular bacterial pathogens. This organism was shown to respond to the availability of environmental magnesium. A mutant with a knockout mutation in the regulatory component of this system (phoP) had no obvious growth defect. It was, however, more motile and more sensitive to antimicrobial peptides than its wild-type parent. Remarkably, the mutation eliminated virulence in an insect model. No insect mortality was observed after injection of a large number of the phoP bacteria, while very small amounts of parental cells killed insect larvae in less than 48 h. At the molecular level, the PhoPQ system mediated Mg2+-dependent modifications in lipopolysaccharides and controlled a locus (pbgPE) required for incorporation of 4-aminoarabinose into lipid A. Mg2+-regulated gene expression of pbgP1 was absent in the mutant and was restored when phoPQ was complemented in trans. This finding highlights the essential role played by PhoPQ in the virulence of an entomopathogen.


* Corresponding author. Present address: INRA, Unité de Biochimie et Structure des Protéines, Domaine de Vilvert, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France. Phone: 33 (0)1 34 65 27 66. Fax: 33 (0)1 34 65 21 63. E-mail: sderzell{at}jouy.inra.fr.


Journal of Bacteriology, March 2004, p. 1270-1279, Vol. 186, No. 5
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.5.1270-1279.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Abi Khattar, Z., Rejasse, A., Destoumieux-Garzon, D., Escoubas, J. M., Sanchis, V., Lereclus, D., Givaudan, A., Kallassy, M., Nielsen-Leroux, C., Gaudriault, S. (2009). The dlt Operon of Bacillus cereus Is Required for Resistance to Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides and for Virulence in Insects. J. Bacteriol. 191: 7063-7073 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • King, J. D., Kocincova, D., Westman, E. L., Lam, J. S. (2009). Review: Lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Innate Immunity 15: 261-312 [Abstract]  
  • Goldman, S. R., Tu, Y., Goldberg, M. B. (2008). Differential Regulation by Magnesium of the Two MsbB Paralogs of Shigella flexneri. J. Bacteriol. 190: 3526-3537 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, W.-B., Chen, I-C., Jiang, S.-S., Chen, H.-R., Hsu, C.-Y., Hsueh, P.-R., Hsu, W.-B., Liaw, S.-J. (2008). Role of RppA in the Regulation of Polymyxin B Susceptibility, Swarming, and Virulence Factor Expression in Proteus mirabilis. Infect. Immun. 76: 2051-2062 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kindrachuk, J., Paur, N., Reiman, C., Scruten, E., Napper, S. (2007). The PhoQ-Activating Potential of Antimicrobial Peptides Contributes to Antimicrobial Efficacy and Is Predictive of the Induction of Bacterial Resistance. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 51: 4374-4381 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Krin, E., Chakroun, N., Turlin, E., Givaudan, A., Gaboriau, F., Bonne, I., Rousselle, J.-C., Frangeul, L., Lacroix, C., Hullo, M.-F., Marisa, L., Danchin, A., Derzelle, S. (2006). Pleiotropic Role of Quorum-Sensing Autoinducer 2 in Photorhabdus luminescens.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 6439-6451 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ramos, J. L., Martinez-Bueno, M., Molina-Henares, A. J., Teran, W., Watanabe, K., Zhang, X., Gallegos, M. T., Brennan, R., Tobes, R. (2005). The TetR Family of Transcriptional Repressors. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 69: 326-356 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bishop, R. E., Kim, S.-H., El Zoeiby, A. (2005). Role of lipid A palmitoylation in bacterial pathogenesis. Innate Immunity 11: 174-180 [Abstract]  
  • Winfield, M. D., Latifi, T., Groisman, E. A. (2005). Transcriptional Regulation of the 4-Amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose Biosynthetic Genes in Yersinia pestis. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 14765-14772 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bennett, H. P. J., Clarke, D. J. (2005). The pbgPE operon in Photorhabdus luminescens Is Required for Pathogenicity and Symbiosis. J. Bacteriol. 187: 77-84 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Marceau, M., Sebbane, F., Ewann, F., Collyn, F., Lindner, B., Campos, M. A., Bengoechea, J.-A., Simonet, M. (2004). The pmrF polymyxin-resistance operon of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is upregulated by the PhoP-PhoQ two-component system but not by PmrA-PmrB, and is not required for virulence. Microbiology 150: 3947-3957 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jia, W., Zoeiby, A. E., Petruzziello, T. N., Jayabalasingham, B., Seyedirashti, S., Bishop, R. E. (2004). Lipid Trafficking Controls Endotoxin Acylation in Outer Membranes of Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 44966-44975 [Abstract] [Full Text]